To the Edge of the World
by DNV
Summary: After witnessing the murder of her mentor, Vitoya flees Castelia City and teams up with an unlikely partner: a timid boy named Danny. The pair's fates intertwine and they journey across the world, all the while Vitoya seeks revenge on the crooks who took the life of Doc and Danny discovers what it means to become a Dragon Master.
1. Chapter 1

**Before you start:** This is based loosely on the Pokémon Black and White games. The first ones. Most of our basis for world mechanics is from the games and some from the anime/cartoon. All the other stuff is us.

 **Warnings:** Rated T: hella bad language. hella as in a lot instead of very. unless you think the f-bomb is very bad. then yeah. hella as in a lot and very. both. possibly graphic stuff too. like bloody-graphic. but not _that_ graphic. no lemons, smut, or whatever you call it nowadays

In Notes, Author V will be _italicized._ Author D is **bolded**.

Chapter 1

Even though spring was quickly approaching, nights in Castelia were still cold enough to fog your breath and numb your fingers. A young trainer stood in a dim alleyway lit distantly by a streetlight, their hood up, with an impassive Pansage with droopy eyes standing alongside.

"I guess this is Doc's last batch, huh Sesame?" Vitoya puffed quietly as she lifted the box to rest on her hip. Sesame said nothing and hopped on her shoulders in response. "You're pretty quiet tonight. Nuthin' to say?" she laughed to herself, "But hey, maybe if Doc hasn't put Anastasia away yet, you guys can say bye in person… in Pokémon?" At this, Sesame let out a small chitter. Vitoya hummed back absentmindedly.

She walked out, slowly making her way to the bar in the next alleyway four blocks down. Castelia nights weren't too bad. Looking out to her right, she let out an appreciative sigh as she watched the moonlight bounce off the waves by the dock. Nights like these were strange. Even the city that seemed to never sleep took naps on occasion.

Vitoya turned away from the docks and brought her attention back to the task at hand. The box was labeled as glassware, to handle with care, but she knew better. It was medication and anesthetics and all that junk for Doc's patients. Sometimes she couldn't believe that Doc trusted her with picking up his stuff. He knew she had a habit of taking things. _Eh. But Doc's cool like that,_ she mused.

When she finally made it to the bar, no one was there, as per usual. This rinky dinky old place, with its dusty counters, wasn't as good as the jazzy pub a few blocks back. It also didn't help that it wasn't exactly in the nicest part of the city. It was fine anyhow, as it was more of a cover than an actual bar. _Oh, there's a spot of dried blood there_. Vitoya made a mental note to clean that up later.

Making her way around the bar counter to the back of the bar, she walked down the cold stone steps of the cellar where the real work happened. The cellar always gave her the creeps. Not that she'd ever tell Doc that.

As she got closer to the entrance to Doc's workshop, Sesame's grip on her head and stance on her shoulders shifted uneasily as his nose twitched. His green foot pressed into her right shoulder a little harder. It was his warning to her that something was wrong. Something wasn't right.

Vitoya set her box down quietly, stepped over it, and peeked around the corner.

"Shit," she breathed out under her breath quietly.

A wave of nausea hit her as she stared in shock. Three burly men stood around a trash bag. They had their guns tucked into the back of their pants. Two of them were cramming what looked to be an arm into it. The last one stood watching them. He had a gash on his arm but it didn't seem to bother him. In the stretch of the bag she saw the shape of a face towards the bottom stretching and pulling at the plastic. Broken glass and debris lay around the counter tops and floor.

Vitoya snapped her head back around the corner. She'd seen her fair share of blood that came with working with a person like Doc, but never like this. Not this kind of crude mutilation. She could feel the bile rising, a heavy pressure in the back of her throat, as she slowly backed away from the scene inching back closer to the box she'd left forgotten on the ground. The word _fuck_ passed through her head as she tripped and fell backward in what seemed like slow motion. On impact, a grunt was forced out of her lungs and everything seemed to speed back up.

Seconds after she hit the floor, she quickly shot back up to her feet and flew up the stairs taking three steps at a time with Sesame on her tail. The men in Doc's workshop were stunned in confusion before they realized someone had seen them. No witnesses. They sent two of the three after her.

Vitoya ran as fast as she could, her heart leaping in her throat in fear as she jumped over the counter. She burst out of the shop and into the alley. She made a quick turn, climbed some discarded crates next to a dumpster like stairs, and ran on top of the dumpster's lid before leaping to a ladder of a fire escape. Scrambling up the ladder, she only made it up two flights and next to a window before they were out of the shop as well.

"There he is!" one of the goons shouted as he spotted her. Her hood had still been up. Wouldn't have been the first time she's been mistaken as a boy, but _that's not important right now._

"Shit, Ses break the window. Fury Swipes!" she urged. Sesame chattered an affirmative and made quick work of the window, breaking it in two swipes and a kick from Vitoya.

She got in the rundown and abandoned building when they fired off a few rounds at her, just barely missing her. She ran down the hallway, barged into the stairwell, and proceeded climbing, taking three steps at a time. She climbed ten flights when she heard them slam into the stairwell with her, which caused her to trip and bang her shin painfully on the concrete step before she got back up in necessity. She could feel her breath become more and more ragged as she sweat in exertion and fear. Didn't help that her shin now throbbed in pain either, but she'd live. She'd had worse from the fights in regular school before she dropped out and learned to live on the streets.

But guns were a no no. No thank you, no gracias, nope goodbye. She very much wanted to live. Know when to pick your fights.

She dared to glance down the stairwell and happened to catch the goon's eye. _AH, fuck did I slow downfuckshitfuck._ Before she could react, he pointed his gun at her. She felt something yank her head back as a shot rang out and resonated in the enclosed space. He had missed; Sesame had pulled her out of harm's way and retaliated by shooting Leech Seeds at his face. He screamed in pain as the seeds took root in his eyes, and that seemed to snap Vitoya out of her mental meltdown and caused her to double her previous efforts in escape. There was still one more goon chasing her down. She had a plan. Sort of.

After what seemed like a terrifying eternity of running, she burst out onto the roof. Without preamble, she grabbed a Net Ball out of a pocket in her cargo pants and let out a Frillish. Sesame twitched at the arrival of his teammate. At first, Princeton looked at her with contempt and annoyance but upon seeing her expression, he looked a tad worried.

"Princeton, there's someone out to get me and these people killed-," Vitoya tried to spit out what had happened and what she needed him to do, but the words got caught in her throat as what she saw in the cellar just only a few moments ago flashed violently in her mind's eye. Sesame chattered at Princeton with a sense of urgency, and that seemed to suffice as Princeton's red eyes glinted with anticipation and he let out a ghostly warble in affirmation before turning towards the door leading to the stairwell.

How could she be so weak? To let what she had saw only a few minutes prior to choke her. It was only death. It was only just a little blood. Only a- She felt something nosing her dark hair, her hood has slipped down when she was running up those flights. It was Sesame. His comfort helped ground her to the present. She took a breath and shut down her panic. Focus.

The task at hand was to get away. Princeton would come home later, as he always did after she released him to hunt.

"You ready, Ses?" Vitoya asked as she prepared herself mentally for the additional physical exertion to come. He chittered once then leapt off of her shoulders to the ground to run beside her. For the first time the whole day, he smiled. It was a small one, but it was there.

She turned away from the door, ran across the rooftop, and leaped across the gap from the roof she was on to the next. She landed with her knees bent to cushion the fall, then transitioned to a roll to keep her momentum going, and then got back up on her feet to continue running in one smooth motion. Sesame followed her closely as she leapt across the gaps between the city's buildings. She vaulted herself over a few obstacles that got in her way: several skylights, some air conditioners. She swatted at the clothes that people had left out on their clothesline overnight, ran, and pulled herself up when the next building was taller than the one she was on. She just needed to get home. Away from this nightmare.

Soon, her destination was in sight and she internally cheered. She had begun to feel the weariness seep into her bones, but she couldn't stop until she was inside. Three rooftops away. Two. One. She heard Sesame let out a short screech in alarm. _Oops._ She misjudged the last jump. The last leap had her crashing into the fire escape; her gut had collided with the railing resulting in her flipping painfully over it and inside the escape with a resounding, metallic clang.

 _Welp, if I wasn't sore before… Ha ha, ow,_ she laughed to herself thinking about the people who might've gotten scared from the racket she had caused. She quickly stopped and winced. It hurt to laugh. _Not exactly the right moment to be laughing. I heard people laugh when they're in shock. Maybe I'm delirious. I should get up though._ Vitoya tried to move from her position on the metal floor of the fire escape. _Owowowow. Okay, maybe in a few minutes._ Sesame popped into her field of vision, a worried look instead of his usual tired indifference was on his face.

"Oh, sup Ses. Wanna help me up?" she asked him. He moved out of her field of view, and she heard a small huff exhaled through his nostrils. Vitoya couldn't help but smile. Once upon a time, she had been taking care of him, a runt of a Pansage, when she had first got him at age 8, but maybe it was Sesame that had always been taking care of her dumb ass. _Hey, what are friends for._ Her happy nostalgia was short lived, however, because she then felt his paw slip beneath her head, and she hissed in pain. She had hit her head when she flipped over. She figured she'd deal with it. Roll with the punches. Man up. Or woman up. Whatever. Get tough.

Once Sesame got her shoulders off the grate floor, he put his paws on her back and pushed slowly while using a Vine Whip on the upper flight for leverage, getting her to a sitting position. She thanked him and then put her hand to her abdomen and groaned.  
"That's going to hurt like a bitch later," she noted mildly. For what felt like a bajillion hours, she very slowly got back up and climbed up the two flights of fire escape to the destination she so desperately needed to get to. When she got there, she noticed the light was on, and mumbled, "Guess my crash landing woke him up." She yanked up the window and stuck her head in.

"Honey, I'm home," Vitoya deadpanned.

"OH ARCEUS FUCK!" the man in the studio apartment yelped and something clattered to the floor with an echo. The sound of alarm had come from the kitchenette. Vitoya invited herself in and climbed all the way inside the apartment with Ses hopping in after her. She shut the window behind her. It was warm in here, and she didn't want the chill to get in. "Oh my god, _Jubi!_ What did I tell you about coming in through my window? I'm going to have a heart attack one of these days and then I'll _FUCKING DIE,_ " the brunet lamented exasperatedly as he came out from around the corner that lead to the kitchenette. Normally, she'd laugh or make a snappy comeback but instead Vitoya tensed at what he said as an image of her best friend's hypothetical death snapped to the forefront of her mind.

"Hayden, I told you not to call me Jubi anymore," she barked.

"Jubilee…" Hayden frowned, his eyebrows furrowed as he peered at her worriedly.

"I'm not that person anymore. I haven't been Jubilee for a long time and you know that, Hayden," she said. She spoke more to the floor than to Hayden. He crossed the room and put a hand on her shoulder. At the touch, she jerked and looked up at him.

"Don't be a Jim, Jubi. You know you'll always be Jubi to me," he said quietly with a small smile. She couldn't help but smile back. Making fun of Jim was always funny.

"Guess I'll never change your mind, huh?" she sighed resignedly, yet the corner of her mouth twitched in a smile.

"Nope," he said, he smiled cheekily, "Come on. I made some hot chocolate; you want some?"

"Made with milk?"

"Nah, I just used water," he told her.

"HB, that's fucking sacrilegious!" Hayden made a face, his mouth twisting and nose crinkling.

"How do you even know that word?"

"Ah, well Doc- oh fuck," Vitoya cursed suddenly at her casual mention of the recently deceased doctor.

"What? What happened?"

"He. He's…" She took a deep breath to keep her voice steady.

"He's what?"

"Dead." The word felt heavy on her tongue. When she was parkouring and then had rammed into the fire escape, she had momentarily forgot her troubles. However, she had remembered now. Hayden's eyes widen in shock.

"What!? What do yo-," he started to ask in alarm.

"HB, Imma need to skip town. I needa keep my head low and leave for a few months. I needa-," Vitoya spoke quickly as her panic rose.

"Jubilee! Calm down!" he exclaimed and grabbed her shoulders turning her to face him, "Look at me. I want you to breathe. C'mon Jubi it'll be okay." Vitoya glanced up at his face. Her breaths came in short puffs. She couldn't breathe and her heart was beating really fast. It felt like every time she tried to take a breath it would get caught on the panic that clogged her throat and settled in her heart. But when she saw her best friend and saw the look on his face, she forced herself slow down a little and take longer breaths. She saw him nod at something almost imperceptibly somewhere off to her right.

All of a sudden, her panic ebbed away as a sweet, aromatic scent filled the room, and she felt like she could breathe again. She flicked her eyes up at him and clenched her jaw. At least, he looked a little guilty.

"Did you seriously just do that." It was more a statement than a question.

"Sorry?" he smiled embarrassedly. His eyes flicked off to the side rather than at her face but then he looked back at her. "But you were, like, having a panic attack! That hasn't happened since you were ten and that dude let out his Darmanitan in the park!" he defended.

"Shut the fuck up! I can't believe you just had Flo use Aromatherapy on me!" Vitoya exclaimed as she motioned off to the side to the Pokémon in question who had released the soothing scent. The Petilil trilled in response to her name with a 'lillillil' from her spot on the bedside dresser. Sesame sat next to her, watching the show, seemingly disinterested, and sipped from a mug in his hands.

"But hey you're better now, right?" he tried with a crooked smile and shrug. Vitoya huffed and sat herself down in the middle of Hayden's bed. She was tired mentally and physically. She just wanted to rest.

"Fine," she bit out tersely, "whatever man. But still, I have to leave. They chased after me, so they'll probably be on the look out for a redhead with a Pansage cause I mean- oh fuck man. Ses fucking shot that fucker with Leech Seeds in his eyes and he's probably blind and people don't like it when their homies get hurt!" Vitoya groaned and pulled at her short hair. She flopped down into the pillows.

"Jubi, calm down. We'll figure something out," Hayden said as he put his hands out in front of him as a placating gesture and sat down on the edge with her. "That does sound pretty serious," Vitoya gave him a look, "and it's probably for the best, but where would you even go?"

"I don't know. Just anywhere. Just away!" she cried out.

"That doesn't seem like a sound plan… You gotta do something. Like what? Are you just going to wander the region until they forget about you?"

"Well, you _sound_ annoying," she groused. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. She was tired from the shitty night she had had. Vitoya reached out behind her, grabbed the edge of the comforter, and rolled herself into a blanket burrito. The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was Hayden's voice exclaiming 'is that my mug?' and a positive chitter from Sesame.

-V-

It starts off with her running. It's a hallway, and she doesn't know where she's going or what she's running from but she passes barrels upon barrels. She sees the end of the corridor and it forces her to turn right. She looks back and she regrets it. Various bloody extremities chase after her and what bothers her the most is the arm that floats after her, swinging a black trash bag round and round with what might be a bowling ball inside. She knows it's not that. She tears her eyes away from the pursuer and tries to double her pace to get away but she can't. Her legs move at the same pace as they had in the beginning. Even so, she keeps going.

The barrels become large pine trees, and suddenly everything is hot. She's still running but she has a feeling that it's not away from the same thing just a minute ago. She shrinks and becomes smaller and her face becomes wet with the memory of tears. Her face heats up from running. It's hot.

It's too hot. It's stuffy and she can't breathe. It's too hot.

-V-

Vitoya woke up and she couldn't breathe. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, her neck was sticky from sweat, and her face was burning. Something was smothering her and she became very confused. She tried to flail her arms but found that they were restricted; she was wrapped in something. While she briefly panicked, she heard pressed whispers, human and Pokémon. _Get away from her! She'll freak!_ and some chittering.

She realized that she was just trapped in the comforter she had rolled up in earlier before she had fallen asleep and calmed down a tad. When Vitoya started shimmying towards an exit in the blanket to poke her head out, she saw a faint red light through the sheet before it faded just as quickly as it had came. Finally, she had found an exit to the puffy death trap to breathe fresh and cool air when she saw a blurry Hayden at the foot of the bed cram his hand into his pocket.

"I dunno wha' ya doin', HB, and I don' care," Vitoya slurred from her cocoon as her vision slowly cleared more and more with each blink, "I'm sore as fuck though. Look." She rolled around in the comforter until she was free then pulled up her tank top and hoodie to show him the bruise that was on her stomach. She heard him hiss in sympathy. She put her shirt back on. "Wha' time's it?"

"It's four in the morning, Jubi. You slept for about three hours."

"Welp, now's as good a time as any," she surmised and started to get up.

"Dude, no! You're hella wrecked you need to rest."

" _Dude, no!_ " she mocked, the impersonation muffled by a pillow she shoved her face in. She rolled onto her back again. "Bah humbug or whatever the fuck." She rolled once more.

"Jubi, you're gonna-" His warning was cut off with a thump as Vitoya rolled completely off the bed. He sighed and walked over to her and held out his hand to help her up. She smacked it lightly in response.

"I don't need your help," she joked and took his hand anyway. Hayden's eyeroll was practically audible.

"By the way, Princeton's back," Hayden mentioned and shuddered.

"Cool. Then that means I can _definitely_ go now."

"Sesame returned him when he started, uh getting out of hand again. Sometimes I can't tell who's the actual trainer, you or him," Hayden sighed, "But hey, while you knocked out, I got some stuff together for you. Princeton's ball's in there too." Hayden went into the living room to grab the messenger bag.

"Aw, thanks for packing my lunch mom," Vitoya smirked. Hayden just rolled his eyes in response and handed her it. She slung it over her right shoulder and adjusted the strap until it felt right.

"Are you sure you'll be fine? 'Cause I mean, I can walk you to wherever you're going? It's the least I can do..." he trailed off.

"No, you fucking worrywart."

"But you said you were sore, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Eat this," he held out a small leaf.

"UGH. But that shit is so _bitter_!" she griped.

"Deal with it, Jubi. It wasn't my idea this time. I think Sesame asked Flo for it. So unless you _want_ to be all sore while you're running around doing your flipping shit and stuff..." Hayden trailed off. Sesame nudged her belly to make a point. Vitoya yelped and swatted at the probing tail.

"Fine!" she surrendered. "Gimme that," she said and snatched it out of Hayden's hand. She shoved the Petilil leaf into her mouth and chewed. With a great effort on her part, she finished and swallowed the leaf. She shuddered and gagged at the taste but it was done and she felt the effects immediately. The ache in her muscles faded and she felt refreshed. "I guess I needed that," she admitted begrudgingly. Sesame nodded and Hayden laughed. "But we've gotta go." She made a beeline for the door, but stopped as she was about to exit, turned and looked at Hayden with a somber expression. "Hey if you ever miss me, remember this," she added.

She tugged at a necklace chain hidden underneath her hoodie and pulled out a small charm that was attached to it. It was the red half of a Pokéball and the white button. Engraved into it was the word, _BEST_.

Hayden pulled his necklace out as well. It was the other half of the Pokéball, looking a little like a black and white magnet, and was engraved with the word, _FRIEND_.

"Best friend," Hayden said and held out his fist.

"Best friend," Vitoya repeated back and bumped his knuckles with hers.

After they had said their goodbyes, Vitoya and Sesame headed out. Sesame hopped back onto her shoulders as she walked down the sidewalk towards the general direction of Skyarrow Bridge. She didn't know where she should've been going. _Should I go to Pinwheel?_ She cringed at the thought of returning. _I don't know what'd I do there, but it's not like I'd get lost like everyone else would in that maze of a forest…_ she thought. She stopped directly under a streetlight and turned towards where Route 4 lay. _Or maybe Route 4 would be the better place to lay low? Mmm but if I remember right, aren't there fire-pokemon? I heard it's pretty common for trainers to travel in groups... Even if the trainers don't know each other. Isn't that dangerous? Couldn't that stranger trainer mug you or some shit? … Wait. What the fuck am I talking about._ I'm _the one who would probably rob them. Ses probably wouldn't let me though… Whatever. Where to go…?_

She sighed at her indecision. Sesame patted her head sympathetically but then his stance shifted and gripped her head uneasily. Vitoya tensed and looked around urgently. In the distance she could see two, three shadowy figures. She heard a soft shout from their direction and then she bolted towards the Bridge.

A few feet in front of her was a bike rack and she saw that one of the bikes wasn't locked up. Its frame and chain looked a little rusty, but it still looked usable. She slowed when she reached the rack, pulled the old bike out, hopped on it, and started pedalling.

To her surprise, the bike moved with shocking speed. She quickly reached the rest stop building at the beginning of the bridge and flew through it, ignoring the protests of the guard. She rode the bike up the ramp next to the stairs and got on the bridge. After a minute of pedalling, she slowed her pace and snuck a quick glance behind her. There was no way they could've caught up to her. She shook her head and continued forwards, pedalling leisurely. The decision was made for her. She was headed to Pinwheel Forest.

When Vitoya reached the midway point and the Skyarrow Bridge began to slope downwards, she stopped pedalling altogether and let gravity do it's work.

"This is pretty great, huh Ses?" she asked over the wind whistling past her ears. She didn't really expect him to respond. Ses just held onto her a little tighter.

As her bike rolled along the Bridge, she felt the floor rumble through her bike and heard something that sounded like thunder. Sesame dropped from his place on her shoulders onto the rusted rear seat of the bike to look at what or who was coming. Vitoya's heard this sound before, albeit on TV. It was the sound of galloping Zebstrikas.

"FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK!" she yelled in exasperation. "Alright. Sesame, when you see the first one, use Grass Knot to trip it!" Sesame made a sound of agreement that was lost in the wind. He raised his tail to grip the hood of her jacket for additional balance. He then spat seeds on the ground of the Bridge to prep the attack as they were not in normal conditions to use the move. Grass can't bust through a steel bridge over water.

The thundering grew louder and the vibrations grew stronger, and three Zebstrika came into sight, one running a tad faster than the other two. Soon, the leading Zebstrika came upon the trap. Sesame's eyes lit a glowing green, and the seeds began to grow at a rapid pace as they wrapped around the striped Pokémon's hooves and up it's legs. The Pokémon tripped and fell to its knees and hocks which caused its rider to fly off of it and crash painfully before tumbling along the Bridge some more. The other two Zebstrika pulled to a stop, backing up on their hind legs, causing the other goons to slip off their steeds and fall to the floor. She distinctly heard one of them shout a distraught 'MARTY!' and continued on biking.

The rest stop on the other side of the Bridge came into sight and Vitoya prepared to slow down. However, when she gripped the hand brakes on the bike nothing happened. _Uh oh._ Next, she tried to pedal backwards but yet again. Nothing. She was going too fast to jump off and telling Sesame to use Vine Whip to get them out would put too much stress on his vines at this speed. _I guess that's why this bike wasn't locked up._

"You might want to hold on tight, Ses!" she warned.

She was already at the ramp down, zipped through the rest stop, and turned right then left then right again. All too quickly she was in the forest bumping around on the leaf littered floor which helped slow the bike down a bit. Ses jumped off, roped a branch with a vine, and tried to grab Vitoya with his second one, but he wasn't quick enough to grab her. She crashed the bike into a bush, flew out of her seat, and collided into something that squawked in something akin to fear and surprise.

-V-

Note: _Flo (Petilil) knows Aromatherapy, but it doesn't necessarily mean she's level 28. Movesets are more like what the Pokémon are capable of learning naturally and/or with training. It depends on the different factors on how much effort it will take a certain Pokémon to learn and master a certain move. Depending on each individual Pokémon's aptitude and determination, Pokémon of the same species can learn the same moves at different 'levels.'_

 _When Sesame was talking to Princeton, he pretty much said "Do whatever. Get rid of him. The ones with guns. See you at home." Not a Pokémon of many words._

 _Fun Fact: This chapter's 'fuck' count is 17 fucks, including variations like 'fucker' and excluding this message. Fucks:_ _Brought to you by Hayden, he'll give 'em all!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Danny Lunelle sat cross-legged, rubbing his head in an attempt to soothe the pounding ache. Something or more like a someone had flew out of nowhere and conked him on the head.

"Ow ow ow!" he cried. His brain felt like it was rattling around in his head.

It was then when he noticed a low groan coming from the collapsed heap in front of him. Wide-eyed, he bum-scootched backwards until his back was against a tree.

"Fuck," grumbled the figure, as it slowly began to rise. "Ugh. Twice in a day, that's gotta be some sort of record."

Danny couldn't help but let out a frightened squeal. The person snapped around and spotted him cowering with his hands over his head against the base of the large tree.

"Who the fuck?" came the voice.

Suddenly, there were more voices shouting "Where'd that brat go?" and "Fuckin' blows man."

The person immediately scooped Danny up from behind and clamped a sweaty palm over his mouth.

"Shh," the person put a finger to their lips.

Danny's breathing was quick and heavy. His heart was racing like the hooves of a Ponyta galloping across the savannah. He held on tight to clumps of grass and earth for security, and squeezed his dark brown eyes shut. Despite the stranger's struggle to keep him quiet, Danny couldn't help but whimper through his nose.

"Marty, you hear that too?"

"It's gotta be that fuckin' kid."

Danny could hear someone stepping closer, but it was as if they were limping.

"Marty...are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fuckin' fi- AH!"

"Ey, Ey! Take it easy, alright. When we get home, I can make you some of that tea you like. It'll make you feel better." The voice paused, "And, if you want, it doesn't have to be the _only_ thing making you feel better."

"Sh-shut the fuck up, Tony!"

Danny could see the man called Tony putting his hands up in a surrendering pose. Tony continued on angrily despite the gesture.

"First, that little fucker went and blinded Carl, then nearly killed Ralphie with that fuckin' Frillish," started Tony, "and now the kid's gone and roughed up my precious angel." He coddled and embraced the other goon in mock-affection, or at least Danny _thought_ they were kidding…

"Would ya cut that out? We still gotta find that kid."

"Right, and when we do, I'm gonna rip em' limb from limb."

The footsteps sounded closer, and soon the bushes near them began to shake, and rattle. The stranger's bear-grip on Danny became tighter and he could feel their body tense up. This didn't help to calm him down. His breathing increased and his heart rate sky-rocketed. He began to claw frenziedly at the stranger's hand, begging for release. The stranger wrestled him still and the hug began to feel more like an Ekans constricting him. He could do nothing but cry as the shaking and footsteps got closer and closer.

"Yo Marty! Tony! Lillipup's got a lead! The bitch went back to the city!" a third voice called out.

The shaking stopped, and Danny could hear the footsteps run off until they were nothing more than a distant memory.

"Fuckers need to get a new bloodhound. Haha-OW!" Danny bit down hard into the hand covering his mouth. This apparently worked, as the stranger jumped up, releasing him from their death hold. Danny scrambled to get to his feet, but the stranger slammed their foot down onto the long sleeve of his hoodie and pinned it to the forest floor. They pulled their arm back and clenched their fist, ready to sock him.

"Please!" he cried, "I don't have any money!"

The stranger looked at him, perplexed.

"I don't want your money, kid." Now that he had a clear view, Danny could see that the stranger was handsome. His short, red hair accented his face perfectly, and his biceps, although somewhat scrawny, were nicely toned.

"O-Oh," Danny flustered, becoming aware of the attractive stranger's intentions "I understand…" his face burned bright red as he began to lift his sweater up.

"No, man! What the fuck are you doing!?" The stranger was quick to pull Danny's shirt back down.

"Oh... right. _You_ want to be the one to undress me…"

"No! Nobody's stripping! The hell's wrong with you, kid?"

Danny's face flushed with embarrassment, and his hands were quick to cover it.

"I'm sorry!"

"Here, just... just get up!" The stranger held out his hand for Danny.

He looked up into the stranger's dark, red eyes before tentatively placing his hand into the stranger's. The stranger's grasp was strong and firm. Danny could feel his strength, as he pulled him up to his feet. Now that they were both standing, he noticed the height difference. Danny was a good 5'7" and the stranger seemed to be several inches shorter. It didn't bother Danny, though. He was too stunned by the beauty of the boy standing before him.

"Th-thank you…" Danny said shyly.

"Don't mention it. Wait... do I... do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I've seen your face before... What's your name?"

Danny jumped. This was just like the start of the romance novel he had been reading. The dashing prince rescuing the poor, but beautiful maiden, and asking for her name.

"Um, D-danny," he managed to sputter out.

"Danny... Daaaaannnyyyy," The stranger rolled the name, as if trying to remember where he had heard it. Danny liked the way his name sounded on this stranger's tongue. It made him shiver. Or maybe that was the morning air, considering Danny was wearing shorts that stopped mid-thigh.

"OH! I remember now! You're that one kid!" Danny stared blankly at the stranger, confused. "Haha, my bros and I holla'd at you the other day!" Danny's face painted a ghastly white as he remembered the poignant memory.

-D-

It was about 3 weeks ago, when he had just moved to Castelia City from Mahogany town in the Johto region. He had been out running a few errands for his mother and was just returning home. As he neared his street, he heard the sharp sound of someone whistling. He froze in his tracks.

"Aye lil mama! You got a name, or do they just call you sweet cheeks?"

Danny was used to flushing red, but this time his face burned so badly that he had to cover it with both of his hands, thus dropping the paper bag of groceries to the floor.

"You got a number or something, baby?"

"I-I don't have a PokéGear!" Danny spurted out and then proceeded to run. As he did, he heard the voice say "what the fuck is a pokégear?"

-D-

"Yo-you're that person?!"

"I prefer Vitoya, but yeah. I'm _that_ person."

"P-PokéGear is every trainer's essential device!"

"What?"

Danny turned crimson and covered his mouth. _That was such a dumb thing to say! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

"Anyway, sorry 'bout the other day. My pal has a little crush on you, but fuck man, he's too much of a wimp to ask your name or your number or somethin'. I was just trying to speed up the process, you know?"

Danny kept his head down to hide his mortification, and remained silent.

"Well, _Danny_. What exactly is a guy like you doing out here in fuck-bottom nowhere at 4 am? You ain't a part of some secret late-night Arceus worship circle are you?"

Danny shook his head no. Then he remembered just what he was doing crouching in a bush at 4 am. Earlier that night he had lost something precious to him.

"M-my….my bag! I lost my bag!" He cried out.

"Keep it down, would you?" He raised his arms as if ready to pounce and silence him again. "Oh fuck, your _bag?_ Another fuckin' fashionista? As if I didn't already have to deal with Selina!"

"No! I-inside! My-my-m-m-my Knight!" He stuttered out between a flood of tears.

"Your _knight_? Shit, kid. This isn't dungeons and dragons!"

"It is! D-dragon!" he cried. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks in fat droplets.

"Hey, calm down man," Vitoya took Danny by the shoulders, one hand on each. For a moment, his touch felt comforting. But then Vitoya began to shake him.

"CALM. DOWN. It's embarrassing, man!" His tears began to flow faster, but he tried to stifle them.

Vitoya waited until Danny had settled down to the point where he was only shaking and his sniffles were just occasional.

"Now, do you want to tell me what's up?" Vitoya tried. Danny inhaled deeply.

"My bag... my Pokémon was in there. And... and I lost it!"

"Shit man, why didn't you say so? I'll help you." Danny's eyes lit up.

"You will?"

"For a price."

"What?!"

"Chill, ya idiot, I'm kidding. Sure, why not? I'll help ya. I've got one condition though: no more fuckin' crying," he laughed minutely.

Danny nodded earnestly and jumped to his feet with new-found resolve. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow jump down from a branch, and squealed. When he opened his eyes, he saw a calm-looking Pansage handing Vitoya some sort of cloth.

"Oh, my jacket. Thanks, Ses." He scratched behind the Pokémon's ear, and slipped the dark gray zip-up hoodie on.

"Is that _your_ Pokémon?" Danny asked, taking a tentative step closer.

"No, I've just accepted a jacket from a wild Pokémon," he said, his tone flat and sarcastic. Danny felt foolish. "Kidding again. This is Sesame. He's more than my pokémon, he's my partner."

Danny nodded in understanding. Not only was this person charming, he also seemed to have a deep connection with his Pokémon. Danny felt considerably less high strung, and went to offer the Pansage his hand. Sesame looked at it for a moment, before slapping it aside.

"Sorry, he isn't too fond of strangers."

"I feel the same way you know."

"Not fond of me?" He smirked again jokingly, mirth sparkled in his moonlit eyes.

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant! I'm very fond of you! Wait that's not what I meant either!" Danny bit the inside of his lip and took a breath before starting again, "I meant about my Pokémon. My _partner_. Knight is my best friend." Danny took another wobbly breath before adding, "and I lost him."

Vitoya looked at the boy with something comparable to sympathy.

"All the more reason to find that bag."

-D-

Note: **Yo, it's D, the co-author of this story and author of this chapter! I'd just like to clarify that Danny believes that Vitoya is a dude. Like that wasn't already obvious. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this so far! I had my baby almost strip for ya'll ;)**

 _V whispers: vitoya almost stripped too, you know. last chapter. heh. sort of. but not really. just kinda lifts her shirt. like danny._

 _Fun Fact: The third goon's name is Larson. His Lillipup is 'special.' He adores it, calls it his 'Lillibaby', and it barks like a kitten's first meow. Additionally, the three Zebstrika from the last chapter all belong to Marty._

Bonus Alternative Crack!scene:

"Ses? Ses is more than my pokemon, he's my partner!"

Danny's face paled and his heart stopped for a second. _Partner?_ Had he stumbled upon another furry? soME ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS? O JOY! FINALLY SOMEONE HE COULD SHARE HIS PAIN WITH


	3. Chapter 3

_**Important notice:**_ _Okay so author V fucked something up. Just ignore the timestamp shit. All you need to know it's around the beginning of the end of winter._

Chapter 3

Vitoya could say that she helped this Danny kid out of the goodness of her own heart, but Sesame would smack her upside the head for such a blatant lie. She kind of pitied him. Here's this kid out in pretty much butt fuck nowhere in the darkness of the morn, without his bag, or even his Pokémon. At the same time, she sympathized with the loss, because if she lost Sesame she wouldn't know _what_ she would do. You just have that special bond with your first Pokémon, and she understood that. She also thought he was a bit of a chump that was fun to mess with. She mentally chuckled at that. So that's why she figured she would help him.

"Hey, Da… nny… Danny, right?" She called out while rummaging through the bag Hayden had packed for her.

"Yes, it's Danny," his voice called back from the darkness behind her.

"Do you have any idea where you might've left your crap?" she asked as she pulled out a flashlight from one of the pockets in her bag. She turned it on and surveyed her surroundings before she flashed the light in Danny's face. Danny squawked from the sudden bright light that had shone into his eyes, and raised a hand to shield them.

"Ah, um no… I only moved here about a month ago. Um, this is actually my first time in this forest."

"Are you serious?" Vitoya scoffed and shook her head, "What the hell's a kid like you doing out here at this hour anyway?"

Danny, not expecting that question, seemed to be caught off guard. "Uh, um… I uh… enjoy morning walks?" the statement sounded more like a question than an answer.

Vitoya gave him a weird, questioning look, but then decided she didn't care much why he was out here. "Whatever, I guess."

Danny let out a sigh of relief, grateful he was no longer being put on trial.

-DnV-

Vitoya began to regret helping Danny. Why? He just couldn't keep his damn yap shut.

"-and did you know that there are only 13 known dragon type moves? That's the fewest of any type! Back where I come from, Claire, the gym leader of Blackthorn city, used to say that what dragons lack in variety they make up for with sheer strength! And I've been giving it some thought and-" he continued on, but Vitoya tuned him out.

He droned on and on as she swept the flashlight from side to side across the floor to look for any clues as to what direction he might have come from. _Oh my god, may Arceus help me,_ she mentally complained as she clenched her jaw. She looked at Sesame who was by her side and gave him a look that said _'Does this kid ever shut his trap?'_ Sesame rolled his eyes and shrugged in response. Vitoya had had enough.

"Danny!" she snapped and turned the flashlight on him. He stopped his babbling abruptly and stared at her with startled, brown eyes. Having those doe eyes focused on her almost made her feel bad.

"I-I'm sorry..." he mumbled, his head down.

"No, it's fine," she huffed, "Just...try to keep the blabbing to a minimum, would ya? I'm tryna focus here." Vitoya brought the beam of light back in front of her, and continued scouring the forest floor for anything that might hint at where Danny's bag might be. After a few more steps, she spotted an indentation in the ground that she figured must've been the print of Danny's shoe. "This yours?" she asked.

Danny stepped forward to inspect the print, then nodded in nervous confirmation. His dark hair fell over his eyes before he brushed it back out of the way and followed her when she moved forward.

For a while the pair walked with a tense air of silence shrouding them, broken only by the sharp, short squeals Danny let out every time a bush shook. _Okaay... Maybe_ this _was what he was avoiding by running his mouth,_ Vitoya mused. She broke the silence.

"You know, when I said to keep the blabbing to a minimum I didn't mean you had to shut the fuck up…" she murmured. Danny startled when she spoke. In the deafening silence, her murmur was akin to a shout. Danny remained silent, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

Vitoya sighed deeply. Obviously she would have to be the one to strike up a conversation.

"Sooo," she started flatly, "You said you moved here a month ago, right? Well, uh, where did live before?" Sesame face-palmed at Vitoya's lame attempt to make small talk.

"Shut up Ses!" Vitoya hissed quietly, and slapped his leg lightly. Sesame chittered apathetically in response.

Danny brightened nonetheless. He was thankful for a break from the monotonous silence.

"I'm from the Johto region. Specifically Mahogany Town. It's absolutely lovely! So much more charming"—Vitoya rolled her eyes—"than the big city. I remember my mother used to take me out to the lake and we'd catch Magikarp, and the trees were always so lush and green, and the Pidgey would croon in the morning, and OH! The sunrise was so beautiful an-"

"Man, I asked where you're from, not for your life's story," she joked, but Danny didn't seem to get it, and shut his mouth with an audible click. "Shit, dude, I was joking. That sounds nice I guess. Never heard of Mahogany Town before though. I'm not big on the map shit. At least outside of Unova I mean."

"Really? That's okay, I don't know about much outside of Johto." Danny said.

Unsure of what to say, Vitoya looked at him for a second before returning to scanning the floor.

"The forest here reminds me of home," he paused, "The trees may be different, but... it feels the same," he went on wistfully.

Vitoya turned to look at him, and briefly thought she saw something akin to sadness, no, _longing_ in Danny's eyes. She looked away.

"Yeah, feels like home to me, too," Vitoya whispered, almost inaudible, the same look in her eyes that Danny had and a twinge in her heart.

She steadfastly avoided looking at him. Didn't want a stranger to see even the slightest sadness in her. Didn't want _anyone_ to see the sadness in her. Didn't want anyone to know about what happened that day here in this forest. She wasn't the type to just spill her sob story like that, so she tried to push the poignant memory into the deepest corner of her mind, and trudged forward with her eyes on the path, wordlessly, listening to Danny babble about the time when he went to a park in Golden- _whatever_ City and a Weedle crawled into the leg of his pants.

"—and when I woke up, I was in a hospital! The doctor said the poison had caused my… uh… bum to swell. But it's okay because she also said—"

"Wait, hold up Danny." She extended her arm, as to block him from taking another step. Danny, too indulged in his memories to notice the arm in front of him, bumped into it with a small _oof._

"Um, what is it?" he asked with blatant anxiety.

"Is that your shit?" she asked back, shining her flashlight on a pack that seemed to be moving.

Danny squinted his eyes in the direction that Vitoya pointed, and spotted a tan satchel with the initials "D.L." branded boldly on the front.

"OH MY ARCEUS IT IS!" Danny squealed in happiness as he pushed past her and rushed to his bag, "THANK YOU SO-"

"WAIT!" Vitoya called after him but Danny had already got to his bag and shoved his hand inside only to yank it back out in pain. Attached to his hand was a relatively small Venipede which then scurried up the length of his arm, around his neck, over the back of his head, and onto his face. Danny flailed and screamed, but was muffled by the Venipede's body and its own discordant screeching. Vitoya ran forward, grabbed the bug with her gloved hand, and pulled with as much strength as she could muster. "Ses, I need an assist here!" she called frantically when she saw that the green monkey Pokémon had been sitting against a tree, watching the show. She managed to pull off the Venipede, spun around, and threw it upwards. Sesame, who was up and ready, then snatched the bug with a Vine Whip and flung it out into the distant darkness of the forest, its screeches fading.

Vitoya wiped her brow with her forearm and let out a sigh of relief. She looked at Sesame and thanked him. He just rolled his eyes in response and pointed his tail at Danny, who was sprawled across the floor like a map.

"Oh shit!" she yelped, ran over to him, yanked him up by the collar, and shone the flashlight in his face to inspect the damage. There were some minor scratches on his cheeks, but, other than that, it looked it would heal just fine. However, Danny seemed pretty incapacitated. His head lolled to the side and he looked at her with wide, dazed eyes through his bangs and slurred: "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooah. You're handsome."

Vitoya then brushed his bangs up and saw that near his hairline was a swollen bite mark with a minimal amount of Venipede venom and blood oozing out of it. Danny reached out and tried to wrap his arms around Vitoya's neck. "C… c'mere hawtie..." he mumbled lazily and began giggling.

"Oh gross." Vitoya was quick to step back to avoid Danny's drunken hug. Not noticing that his 'prince' had moved, Danny lurched forward, hugged the empty space that Vitoya had been in not two seconds earlier, and fell face-forward into the dirt, all the while laughing hysterically.

Vitoya, not knowing what to do, spewed out a continuous string of 'fucks'.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck," her hands were clawing at her short, red hair. "Uhhhh," then she remembered what her father told her: _The forest will always provide for you, Jubi._ A metaphorical light bulb went off, and Vitoya reminded herself that the forest had the solution to this problem. "A pecha berry, we need a pecha berry!"

Vitoya turned to look briefly at Danny, who seemed to be mesmerized, or more accurately, perplexed, by his hands. "Did I always have 10 tiny wee-wees on my hands...?" Vitoya tsked and sucked in a breath.

"Yeah… definitely gonna need those berries. But wait, shit, are they in season? It's winter, I don't think so. Shit. Ses, we gotta bring him to the Center—where'd you go Ses, what the fuck. Fuck, we gotta go!" Vitoya hauled Danny up and picked him up bridal style. _Oh wow, he's hella light?_ passed through her mind briefly.

"Woah, haha up I gooo," Danny laughed. "You're so strooonngg!"

"Yeah, sure Danny, whatever you say, pal," she responded absentmindedly as she moved forward at a light jog. "Just don't die on me. I really don't want to be carrying around a dead body."

As Vitoya trekked through the forest, Danny kept on blabbering semi-nonsense.

"Aw man you are _so_ handsome, are you, like, Prince Handsome? You should totally marry me, you stallion." ... "You know my grandpapper is like totes a dragon mastaaaa." ... "Once, some people in school offered me dried Oddish leaves. I said no, obcourse, because I'm a good boy. I can be yer good boy if y'know wut I'm sayin' babe."

About forty minutes had passed, and somewhere between a drugged up flirt and a comment about dragons, Sesame reappeared and plopped down on Vitoya's shoulder as she was jogging.

"Oh hey Ses, what's up? Oh me? I'm just fine, just y'know, carrying around a person with an expiration date! WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?!" Vitoya reprimanded angrily, slightly out of breath. "I'm freaking out and there's this motherfucker who's potentially dying, and you just leave? What were you doing? Was it some late night booty call—don't say anything Danny—that was keeping you busy?!"

Sesame chattered in response and nudged her face with his closed paw, wiping away some sweat that had started accumulating by her temple. "No, you know what? I'll deal with you later; we're almost there anyway, fuck." As she said this, the exit to Pinwheel Forest was in sight. Seeing the exit, she shook Sesame off her shoulder and broke off into a sprint towards Nacrene City.

Soon the Pokémon Center was in sight and Vitoya skidded to a halt, banging Danny's head on the pull door.

"AHHHhhhh owwwiieeee..." Danny whined as he flopped his head down limply.

"Hey, Ses, help me,"—a gasp—"with this door," Vitoya asked, her sentence staccatoed by her panting. Before she even finished her sentence Sesame had used one of his vines and pulled the door open for her. Vitoya ran inside and dumped Danny onto the counter of the PokéCenter.

"Oh my," exclaimed a startled Nurse Joy, "I'm sorry young man, but, as you can see, this is a Pokémon Center, and as the name more than implies, this facility is strictly for Pokémon and Pokémon only!"

"C'mon, Nurse Joy! The nearest hospital's miles away from here, and this kid could die at any second! Just look at 'im!" Vitoya gestured to the drunken mass that was laid over the counter.

"Whaya talkin' bouuuu? I'm fiiiiiiiine," Danny protested. he paused for a quick second, "buh not 's fine 's youuuuuu~" he giggled in a low voice that sounded something like a Snorlax.

"Oh dear god." The nurse touched her fingertips to her lips.

"See? Can't you help? Can't you, like, give him an injection or somethin'?"

"Hmmm, no but..." The nurse jumped all around Danny, moving her stethoscope from his buttocks to his chest to his forehead. "Actually, I think all you really need is a pecha berry! Your friend should be fine after he eats one!" She flashed a sweet, reassuring smile.

"Great!" Vitoya looked at Nurse Joy expectantly.

"Yes, medicine _is_ great." Nurse Joy held Vitoya's stare blankly for a few seconds.

Vitoya, slightly confused, looked to her left and right, and then back at Nurse Joy. Seeing that the nurse still did not move, she decided to ask.

"Uhhh… do you have one?"

"A pecha berry?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Not even one!" Nurse Joy still held her pearly white smile.

"What the hell was the point of that examination then?!"

"To see what was the matter with him, of course!"

"I know what the matter is! Any idiot with eyes and ears could tell what the fuck's wrong with him!" At the mention of himself, Danny perked up.

"Arrrrreeee you a druggie? Because ur smokiiiin'." Vitoya grabbed the back of his head and slammed his swollen face back into the counter.

"Shut the fuck up Danny, you're dyin'!" Vitoya returned her attention to the nurse, "So you won't heal him?! You're a nurse for fuck's sake!"

"Sorry, it's not in my job description." At the nurse's indifference of the situation, Vitoya blazed.

"Yeah? Well, treatin' your own injuries probably ain't either, but you're sure as hell about to do that!" The frustrated redhead lunged for the pink-clad nurse, but just before she could pummel her, Vitoya was restrained by vines wrapping around her waist and under her arms. Sesame struggled with trying not to slip on the linoleum floor in his attempt to restrain his infuriated trainer.

"Leggo of me!" Vitoya struggled to inch towards Nurse Joy. The nurse, fearful of the wily girl before her, called for security who then promptly proceeded to toss both the angry imp and the intoxicated lump outside of the Center.

Steam could be seen fuming from Vitoya's ears as she stomped about and banged on the doors of the Center.

"I can't believe this! Doc would never turn down a patient, _you product of the system!_ "—she said that last part louder for the nurse to hear—" _You whack-ass, Chansey-lookin', cinnamon-roll-haired motherfucker!_ " Vitoya continued to stream out derogatives, and wouldn't have stopped, but Sesame kept nudging her, trying to get her attention.

"What is it, Ses?!" she snapped, irritation and impatience plaguing her words. Sesame held out his closed fist calmly, offering her what was inside. Misinterpreting his intentions, Vitoya grew annoyed with Sesame.

"AUGH, I don't have time to play Rock, Paper, Scissors! Can't you see what's happening to Danny?!" At the mention of his name, Danny spoke.

"V-Vitoya…" Immediately, Vitoya rushed beside the kid and cradled his upper body, aware that these might be his final words.

"What is it, pal?" She almost whispered.

"I….I'm dying." His eyes were gray and sullen.

"No, you're gonna be-"

"Dying to see you in my bed."

"What?"

"Kiss me." She slapped him across the face, dropped him onto the concrete floor, and stood up. She almost felt bad for it. Almost. Okay, not really.

Vitoya looked over at Sesame with a face that conveyed her level of "done". However, Sesame seemed to be more concerned with whatever was in his hands than Vitoya's irritation. When Vitoya peeked over, she saw that Sesame held a vaguely spherical, pink object in his hands. She mentally screamed. Well, she physically screamed, too.

"What the fuck, Sesame! You had a pecha berry this whole time!? Why didn't you say anything!? ARCEUS FUCK."

Sesame, as "done" as Vitoya was, just thrust the berry into her hands, threw his arms up, chittered angrily, and walked off towards the alley next to the PokéCenter. Vitoya knew she fucked up.

"C'mon Ses, don't be mad! Come back!" Sesame turned around, eyes squinted, pointed an accusatory finger at her, chattered in what seemed to be a rant for a good fifteen seconds, spun back around, and crossed his arms.

"I'm… sorry?" Vitoya tried.

Sesame's ear twitched, dropped his arms, and his shoulders fell with a resigned sigh. He turned back around, walked towards her, and patted her leg before he motioned to the heap of groaning cloth behind Vitoya.

"Urrggleblurg," Danny gurgled behind them, his eyes were only half open and drool was leaking from his parted lips.

"OH SHIT THAT'S RIGHT!" Vitoya panicked as she remembered why she was here and kicked out of the Nacrene PokéCenter in the first place.

She hurriedly split the pink fruit in half on instinct, and shoved the first piece into his mouth. When he didn't chew, Vitoya grabbed his jaw and moved it up and down repetitively, and forced him to down it. She then took the other half of the berry and smeared it over the wound that the Venipede had inflicted on him, just like her father had taught her when she was younger. The makeshift ointment wasn't exactly necessary—as the ingested half of the berry did most of the job—but it helped soothe the pain and burning that came with a Venipede bite. Almost instantly, the swelling went down to a more manageable size. Vitoya held her breath.

Danny's eyes fluttered, and he groaned softly. Seeing that he was alright, Vitoya let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"U...un...where am I? Why does my head hurt?"

"You fuckin' dipshit don't you have any common sense? You made me carry you like 5 miles, not to mention I'm probably on that nurse's hit-list because of you!"

"Wha-what?" disoriented, and majorly confused, it was all Danny could manage to say.

"Speaking of hit-lists, am I on _yours_? BECAUSE YOU KEPT HITTING ON ME!"

At this, Danny blushed furiously, and profusely spouted apologies. He tried to sit up, but did so so quickly that he experienced a minor episode of vertigo, and had to steady himself. Unfortunately, that didn't work and he ended up falling forward into Vitoya's chest, which, in turn, made him even more flustered and red-faced. Vitoya rolled her eyes, and reassured Danny that it was fine.

Suddenly aware of her aching body, Vitoya realized she was in need of much deserved rest. A great yawn escaped her, which made Danny yawn as well.

"I don't know about you Danny but I'm tired as _shit_. _However_ , thanks to _you_ we can't stay at the Center," she groaned as she looked up into the dark morning sky. "Fuck, where do we go now…"

Sesame, who had apparently left for several minutes, returned chittered at Vitoya.

"What? Seriously!? Aw, Ses you're the best!"

"W-wait what? You understand your Pokémon?"

"Uh, not really but I can guess. We play a lot of charades."

Sesame chittered again, and pointed to a dimly lit street. Vitoya seemed to be thinking.

"Hmm… one word… two syllables. Werewolf… no wait… where house? What house? OH! Warehouse!" Danny was somewhere between astounded and impressed.

"Wow. You weren't kidding. You really are good at this."

-DnV-

The warehouse was small and made of a dark colored wood. It was one of those refurbished warehouses turned art-studios. In front of the door was a welcome mat featuring a cute caricature of a Drilbur saying "wipe your paws!", and off to the side were some decorative rocks.

"The door's locked." reported Vitoya, after she tried the most direct method of getting in: trying the door knob. Sesame smacked her upside the head for stating the obvious. "Welp, looks like it's time to break in. Ses, you're on sentry duty." Sesame nodded, silently hopped off of Vitoya's shoulder, and bounded off to sit atop of a lamp post.

"Wait! Isn't this illegal?"

"Well, yeah."

"As in, against the law? As in _we'll go to jail if we get caught_?"

"That's the thing, we _don't_ get caught. Look, if you're so worried, you're welcome to go wherever the fuck you want. As for me," she continued, "I'll be sleeping here." She returned her attention to the doorknob.

Despite his concern, Danny didn't object to the idea. Maybe it was because he was afraid of staying outside, maybe it was because Vitoya gave him a strange adrenaline rush.

"Um, maybe I could help."

Vitoya eyed him and scoffed, "Sure, knock yourself out."

Danny fished through his bag, and retrieved a minimized Pokéball, which, at the click of a button, grew to fill his hand. He closed his eyes briefly and inhaled. He was eager to show Vitoya that he wasn't as helpless as she though. Both hands cupping the ball, he pulled it behind his head, exhaled, and then slingshotted it through a high window, which shattered like thin ice.

" _What the fuck are you doing?!_ " Vitoya hissed. "What part of 'we _don't_ get caught' don't you understand, makin' all this fuckin' noise!?"

"Sorry!" Danny apologized, "That wasn't exactly what I was going for, but I guess that works too." He laughed nervously.

Vitoya massaged her temples and shook her head, but decided that there was no use in scolding him for it. She called for Sesame to see if they were still in the clear. He chittered out an affirmative.

"Good Arceus, Danny, I could've just jimmied the lock, you know. Or like," she picked up one of the decorative rocks and flipped it over to find a false bottom, and a shiny metal object "used a _key._ " Danny was surprised, to say the least.

"How did y—"

She rolled her eyes. "You're lucky that our 'landlord' is out of town and is as dumb as you are. I mean who uses a fucking fake ass rock. Dumbasses. That's who. Touch it." She offered the gray lump of plastic to Danny, but he declined, choosing instead to just take her word for it. Vitoya shrugged, and turned her attention back towards the door and unlocked it, placed the key back into its niche, and tossed the rock back with the others. "After you," she gestured to the door and bowed sarcastically.

"Um thanks, I... guess." Danny flushed as he stepped inside.

"Oh, by the way, stay away from the glass," she mentioned, teasingly of course, as she took off her fingerless glove. She stepped inside after him and slipped on a pair of black gloves that she had pulled out from one of the pockets of her cargo pants.

"Wait, what are those for?" Danny asked.

"Just because," she replied flippantly. "I don't gotta explain everything to you, do I?"

Vitoya stepped silently to the section of the floor where Danny's Pokéball laid in a nest of broken glass. "Shouldn't we clean that up?"

"No," she paused, "if we do that, they'll notice the window's still broken, but the glass is gone. That would be too fishy. But, if we leave everything as it is, they'll think it was just an accident and shrug it off. No police involved, no teenagers getting arrested."

"Leave everything as it is?" Danny made a face of shock. "B-but, my Pokémon! We can't just-"

"Relax, southpaw. Got a spare ball on ya?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Oh, thanks Ses." She accepted the red and white ball from the Pansage and looked back at Danny. "You should really pay more attention. Thieves are everywhere." She winked.

"Wait, was that from my pa—," Danny cut himself off and spun around to check his pack where he kept his spare Pokéballs. Sure enough, he was missing one. When he returned his attention to Vitoya, she had already swapped Danny's ball for the empty fake. She tossed the real ball at him. Danny caught the ball for a fraction of a second, but fumbled and sent it flying upwards.

"A-uwaaaah! I got it! I got it! I got it!" Vitoya thought that Danny looked as if he was playing hot potato with himself, and almost laughed. Finally, it seemed like Danny had gotten a good grip on the ball. He immediately pulled it close to his chest and crooned, sounding something like a Pidove.

"Look, it's been a long-ass day for both you _and_ me, so let's just hit the sack, Jack," she said in a bland voice.

"My name's Danny."

"It's a saying."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Vitoya used her thumb to gesture behind her to the ladder that lead to the second floor, "I call the loft. You can go wherever the fuck you want." she pointed at Danny, then turned and made for the ladder. Just as she was about to climb the first step, she heard what sounded like a stomach growl. Vitoya turned her head, and looked at Danny with her eyes half closed. He blushed in embarrassment, and raised his large doe eyes sheepishly to meet her own.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not your mom."

"Oh, I-I uh have food in my pack."

"Okay. Good for you. I'm gonna sleep now."

"Oh um, night!"

"Yeah," she waved at him dismissively.

Vitoya climbed the ladder up to the loft of the warehouse. She was exhausted and didn't care that her stomach protested her decision not to eat. She threw herself onto the neatly made bed, and covered herself in the cool, cream-colored, cotton sheets. The events of that morning raced through her head in an endless marathon. Doc. Those men dressed in black. Hayden. Danny. Doc. Men in black. Hayden. Danny. Doc. Men in black. Hayden. Danny. Doc…. That last one stung, and Vitoya had to fight the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. It went on like that, until she grew so tired of remembering that she pulled the pillow from under her head, promptly shoved her face in it, and let out a long-held groan before she curled up with Sesame and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Danny climbed onto the couch in the living room. He was so tired that he didn't care that the cushion he had plopped onto was rough and uncomfortable. Despite the texture, Danny let himself sink deeper into the couch's warm arms. There were so many things prodding his mind. He thought about Vitoya, the abrasive, but handsome stranger. He wondered what would've happened if Vitoya hadn't showed up. Would he have ended up slain by a Venipede in a forest he knew nothing about? Would he have ever found Knight and his backpack? Would he have ended up a captive to those men in black? But, there was one thought which haunted every corner of Danny's mind relentlessly: how long would it be before his mother noticed that the lump lying under his blankets was nothing more than a few balled up sweaters? How long before she found the note on his dresser? How long before he broke her heart?

Both teenagers closed their eyes, painfully trying to fight off the intrusive thoughts. It felt like they were outnumbered 1000 to 1. But, like all wars, the battles soon began to fade away until there were nothing but the ghosts of memories left. Almost unconsciously, they fell victim to the sweet caress of sleep. At least they could escape reality in their dreams.

A/N: _This was a collab chapter between authors D and V. Author V is stupidly low writing stamina. Man, how do people do it. Anyway._

 _The "fuck" count for this chapter is a grand total of 26, not including the authors' notes. Fucks: not brought to you by Vitoya, ironically considering she's the one who says them the most. So in a sense, she does give a fuck, but also not._

 _Fun Fact: One of the characters in this story is betrothed. Spoiler alert: it's Marty. Just kidding._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vitoya woke up in a strange bed on top of taupe covers. She sat up and blinked blearily as she surveyed the room before the memories from last night hit her. A small _oh_ escaped from her lips. _Doc. Zebstrika. Forest. Some kid named Danny. He was poisoned. I healed him. Oh fucking shit._ Vitoya groaned and pulled her knees up to her chest and put her face in her hands.

At the foot of the bed, Sesame watched with what appeared to be little interest as he munched on his snack of berries that he gathered at some point before his trainer woke up. He made a sound to get her attention. She didn't move. He chattered again. No response. Sesame rolled his eyes and chucked a berry at her head.

"Hey!" she responded sharply yet softly at the assault. She rubbed the spot on her head where it hit her. Sesame motioned toward the berry that had just bounced off her head and was now laying in front of her feet. Oran. "Okay, okay, I'll eat." She finished it off in two bites and mumbled a thanks through her mouthful of berry. The berry was sweet, but hardly filling. Her stomach growled. _I wonder if that guy left already?_ she thought absentmindedly. Just then, she heard a crash from down below the loft. _Oh, well, speak of the devil._

When Vitoya climbed down the steps of the wooden ladder, she wasn't surprised to see Danny frantically clambering around on the kitchen floor trying to scoop up a puddle of golden yellow yolk with his hands.

" Another accident? I told you, the toilet is in the _bathroom,_ genius."

"Oh!" Danny startled, "Um, breakfast is ready…" Danny smiled nervously and gestured to the table with his yolk covered hands where several plates full of blackened eggs were set. The bitter smell made Vitoya scrunch her nose.

"Yeah, ready for the trash can." She stepped over the ooze, plucked a few napkins from the roll on the counter near the sink, and let them float down like feathers on top of his head.

"Uh, thanks…" Danny plucked one of the napkins from his hair and dabbed the thick goop on the floor.

"Besides, you realize that: one, you really shouldn't have to tried to cook. We were only supposed to sleep here. Nothing else. And two, the Center provides free breakfast for trainers as long as they have their trainer license."

"A...trainer license?"

"Arceus, you really are clueless aren't you? You're telling me you didn't have trainer licenses in Johto?" Vitoya sighed. It was tedious having to explain everything to Danny, he might as well have been a child. "Okay, so, things like free food may have not been in the trainer plan in Johto or where the fuck ever but here in Unova, anyone who has a trainer license can Tepig the fuck out at the Pokémon Center. So really," Vitoya paused to survey the kitchen. Earlier it had been spotless. Now, it was littered with cooking utensils and stained with all sorts of colorful spices, " _really,_ you shouldn't have."

Danny looked around at the mess he had made and tittered in embarrassment. He had only wanted to cook breakfast to show his gratitude to Vitoya for yesterday, but he had ended up practically destroying the kitchen.

"Hey," Vitoya bent down and fished a blue eggshell decorated with orange spots out of the yolk puddle, "I've never seen this type of egg before. S'not from around here. Where'd you get this?"

"Oh, I bought it from a merchant in Castelia before I left. They had a bunch of eggs: green, orangey-red, and these blue ones," Danny reached for his bag and gently pulled up another of the blue and orange eggs, "But I dunno, they insisted that I keep it a secret. Said it would ruin their business if I spread the word," Danny shrugged, "whatever that means."

"Hm," Vitoya pocketed the eggshell and grabbed some more napkins for Danny. "Get to work," she urged, "so we can get to the Center. I'd rather eat whatever shit they got than a fetus on the floor." She looked again at the gooey mess that Danny was still dabbing away at, and faked a gagging sound.

Vitoya spent the rest of the hour leaning against the kitchen wall and munching on more of Sesame's berries as she watched Danny wipe the kitchen from top to bottom. Every now and then Danny would look at her expectantly, as if he thought she should help, to which she responded with a sarcastic, "Yes, you may continue." Danny would then huff indignantly and return to cleaning the mess.

But, at this rate, they'd miss the Pokémon Center's breakfast. Vitoya sighed begrudgingly, grabbed a towel, and to his delight, joined Danny on the floor.

"I'm only doing this because otherwise, with the way your slow ass works, we'd miss breakfast," she explained, "and you do _NOT_ want to see me when I miss breakfast."

Danny gulped.

-DnV-

When they finished, it was still dark out with just the smallest rays of sunlight barely peeking over the horizon. They had plenty of time to spare to get to the Center in time for breakfast. As they ambled towards their destination with Sesame swinging from urban fixture to fixture, they made small talk.

"So, hey, Vitoya. You mentioned… licenses, I think?" Danny questioned.

"Yeah man," Vitoya answered succinctly. Sesame threw a berry at her which she caught in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it… shit, do I have mine?" She patted herself down before she tapped a pocket on her cargo pants that satisfied her worries. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small plastic card. "Here," she handed it to Danny for him to examine, "this is a trainer's license. It's basically everything to a trainer if you're not rich. Without one of these little shits, you couldn't even own pokémon."

Danny studied the license, turning it over twice before reading the information printed onto the face of the card. "Jubilee Rider…? who's tha-" Danny was cut off mid word as Vitoya snatched it out of his hands.

"No one. Don't ask questions," she snapped.

"But wasn't this whole thing to answer my ques-"

" _No. Questions,_ " she enunciated.

Danny bit the inside of his mouth and kept his lips held tight. This seemed to be a rather sore subject.

"So breakfast, huh?" Vitoya crowed with a false cheer as she sped up just a bit. Danny perked up at the mention of a meal that didn't consist of burnt eggs and tried to catch up with the redhead, but almost tripped on his untied shoelaces.

"So, uh, what do they usually serve for breakfast at Pokémon Centers?" Danny asked, stomach practically growling.

"I don't know. You've ever been to a all you can eat buffet, but really shitty? I think it's something like that."

"But don't you eat there all the time?"

"Not really. I think it differs from city to city so I wouldn't really know about the food. Castelia isn't that great unless you're rich. All I know is that it's a madhouse. Reminds of me of the orph—uh, uh," she verbally stumbles, "The past," she finishes. "Anyway, it's always first come, first serve."

"Ah, I see," Danny returned his attention to the horizon. The Pokémon Center was just up ahead. It's shiny windows gleamed, reflecting the soft beams of morning sunlight, "I can't wait to taste Nacrenian dishes!" Danny pondered over what the Center might have to offer. _I bet there'll be fried Magikarp and pickled turnips and roasted apricorn and freshly picked Oran berries!_

"If they even let us in after that whole fiasco last night. Ahaaa…" Vitoya laughed, just a touch nervous as she pulled open the door.

"Welcome to the Nacrene City Pokémon Center!" A motherly voice chimed, "Are you here to have your pokémon healed?"

Vitoya avoided making eye contact with the Nurse, recounting the poignant events of yesterday. "We're, ahem!" She coughed, pitching her voice to go a lower octave, "We're actually here for breakfast."

"I see! In that case, right this way!" Nurse Joy ushered the pair towards two large doors stationed at the east end of the lobby, "You're in luck, there aren't as many trainers in the cafeteria as usual, considering it's still so early."

"Great!" Danny exclaimed cheerfully as Vitoya muttered a soft _oh no_.

The Nurse smiled and pushed the great doors open, unleashing a cacophony of chatter. The cafeteria was practically _overflowing_ with the most diverse array of trainers and pokémon alike. To his left a Pidove whisked past, cooing frantically as a Rufflet chased after it. To his right a group of trainers were fawning over a Minccino. The trainers took turns spooning a generous amount of sweets into its mouth and squealed in delight each time the pokémon took a bite.

"See? Not as busy as usual!" The Nurse smiled. Danny's mouth was agape and his eyes were wide.

"Remember, Danny? First come, first serve," Vitoya winked at him as she leapt into the fray, jumping over various pokémon and trainers and even hand springing over someone's oatmeal. He heard her yell something at Sesame as she threw a handkerchief at him that she had retrieved from one of her many cargo pockets.

"H-hey wait for me!" Danny took frantically into the sea of bodies, squeezing through the suffocating crowd. In his effort to get through, he was knocked to and fro by one butt and the next. At one point he ended up on the floor next to a large puddle of yellow berry juice; at least, he _hoped_ it was berry juice. At another point, the same Pidove from earlier crashed into his face, then took off only to be replaced by the Rufflet that had been chasing it causing Danny to flail about and screech, his limbs smacking into the people around him who yelled at him for being a klutz. Eventually, Danny spotted an opening in between two masses, whether they were person or pokémon he didn't know, nor cared at this point, and lunged through. He landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"What took ya so long?" Vitoya asked casually as she popped the last bit of a Tamato berry she held with a napkin into her mouth. She sat alone with her feet kicked up on the table as she balanced on two legs of her chair. How she managed to claim a table for her own in this jungle of a cafeteria was a mystery to Danny.

"How did you—I mean—how did you get here so quickly?" Danny asked, puzzled. Vitoya smirked.

"Years of practice, Danny boy."

On the table were two trays: one piled high with fruits and the other loaded with various breakfast items ranging from sweet and sticky to savory and greasy. There were pancakes stacked in precarious towers, oozing with golden syrup that dripped onto the crisp looking bacon, and fluffy yellow eggs, very much unlike the ones Danny had made earlier this morning. The myriad of smells was delectable.

"Guess I was wrong about Nacrene," Vitoya hummed thoughtfully. "The food here s'not so bad." Just then Sesame showed up with a full handkerchief tied to his tail and a coffee in his paw and chittered on his arrival. "Ayyy, Ses what'd you bring to the table? Is that coffee for me?"

Sesame untied the kerchief and revealed his prize to be dozens of breakfast muffins and a few waffles. When Vitoya reached for the coffee, he pulled it away and held it close to his body as he gently swiped at her offending appendage. Vitoya raised her hands in mock surrender. She set her chair back down on all four legs and turned back to look down at Danny who still remained on the floor, gawking up at the food.

"Hey, get your shit together man," she told him as she leaned forward and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "If you don't get up, you'll get stepped on by something heavy."

"Oh right, sorry," Danny scrambled to get up, snagged a chair, and sat down. "I was just, uh, wow. Really hungry. Thanks for getting me a tray!" Danny started to reach for a fork that was on the non-fruit tray when Vitoya pushed his hand down onto the table effectively stopping him.

"Who said that was your tray?" Her expression was stern.

"O-oh! Sorry..I-I as..sumed…" Danny stuttered, his face turning as red as the Tamato berry that Vitoya had finished earlier. After a beat, the serious expression dropped off Vitoya's face and was replaced with a smile as her eyes glittered with mischief.

"Pfffft, I was just kidding," she laughed, "Go ahead." She got serious again. "But the fruits are mine. Touch it and you lose a finger." She jabbed a fork at him threateningly before cracking another smile.

Danny was relieved. A bit frightened, but relieved. He cautiously picked up the fork he had previously been reaching for, then looked warily at Vitoya, who seemed to be having a conversation with Sesame while eating her fruits, before plunging the fork into a choice pancake. Amber syrup oozed from the pancake as if it was bleeding. Danny moved the treat onto a napkin that was conveniently laid out on the table, and began cutting it up like a pizza. Vitoya eyed him.

"You do know that there are more trays right over there…" She gestured towards the front of the room where a neat stack of trays was stationed, "You're going to rip through that napkin and trust me, you don't wanna eat off of these tables. I once saw two trainers gettin' it on on 'em, if ya know what I mean. Not in Nacrene's Center, specifically, but still."

"Getting it on what? What is 'it'?" Danny tilted his head to the side and stared at her quizzically.

"They were fucking," she deadpanned.

"Oh." Danny stared blankly.

"You know, having sex. Making love."

"OH. _oh_." Suddenly Danny wasn't quite up to eat anymore.

"Doing the do. To copulate."

"Ah! I know, I know! Please stop!" Danny turned so red that his head looked like an oversized pokéball.

"Fornication," she grinned impishly. "Genital marriage."

Danny plugged his ears with his fingers, "LALALALALALALAALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU." Vitoya laughed heartily. Sesame tried to hide his snickering by shoving a muffin into his mouth, but his twitching tail knocked his coffee onto the floor which caused him to stop laughing abruptly. Vitoya stopped laughing as well when she caught Sesame's stricken face as a piece of muffin fell out of his mouth.

"Oh shit, Ses! I'll get you another, it'll be okay! Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!" Vitoya yelped as she jumped up and dashed away towards the drinks section, a small netted pokéball fell out of her pants pocket and onto the floor as she rushed off. Danny, who had his eyes tightly shut and still had his fingers plugged in his ears, slowly opened his eyes only to find that Vitoya was gone, and Sesame was curled up in a miserable ball.

"S-Sesame? Are you alright?" Danny tried, tentatively. No response. Danny gently tried to place a reassuring hand on the green pokémon, but this made Sesame whip around and hiss moodily. Danny startled and jumped back, knocking over both trays of food onto the floor.

"Ah!"

The avalanche of food landed directly onto the netball, causing it to double in size and fling open. A beam of red light released the inhabitant of the pokéball. Floating in the air was an angry Frillish covered in maple syrup and scrambled eggs. A furious trill echoed throughout the cafeteria, causing the entire crowd to look towards the source. The pokémon's eyes glared red as it loosed another haunting trill. The room suddenly felt ten degrees colder. Sesame sat up sighing, and looked around for Vitoya. Seeing that she was not at the table, he swung off to the drink section to go find her. The pokémon floated after him wreaking havoc and flinging anything or anyone out of his way.

The cafeteria's joyous chatter had turned into fearful screams. Everyone was rushing to escape through the one exit, shoving and pushing and scrambling past one another. The Frillish launched inky black balls in blind rage, turning over tables and destroying practically everything. Danny froze in fear. "G-g-g-ghost!" He couldn't bring himself to run away, or move, or even scream. The only thing he could manage was to shiver in fright.

"God damn it Princeton get your shit together!" Danny heard a familiar voice yell. "Stop being a pain in the ass and I'll bring you to the ocean later today!" A pause as someone chittered. "Shut the fuck up! He doesn't need to know that, Sesame! You're supposed to be helping me!"

Vitoya was jumping and dodging anything and everything Princeton was throwing her way in his little snit. "Ses, Vine Whip and hold him down! And why the fuck is Princeton covered in breakfast foods?" She rummaged around in her pockets to get his pokéball but alas, it was not there. "Ses, where the fuck is his pokéball?" Vitoya screeched. A non conclusive chitter answered her question. "Okay, new plan! Keep hold of him and Fling him around a bit if you have to! I'll find the ball!" Vitoya dashed back to the table to find Danny still frozen in fear.

"Danny, are you okay?" He remained unresponsive. "What the fuck! What are you? A fucking vegetable? Get your shit together!" She yelled at him and slapped him across the face.

"A GHOST!" he yelled dumbly and full of fear. "And OW!" he yelled indignantly as he held his reddening cheek.

"I didn't even hit you that hard!" Vitoya countered. "But get your shit and get out!" she urged him, "I need to get this asshole under control!"

"That's your pokémon?" he yelped in surprised as he pointed to the Frillish that was being Flung around by Sesame. The ghost glowed white after being Flung into the wall then began to thrash and screech with what seemed to be a renewed spirit.

"Ugh, he's using Recover," Vitoya groaned, "But yes, he is my asshole pokémon and I need to return him to his pokéball before Sesame gets too tired out — not that he would, but I don't want to take longer than I have to — but go!"

"Okay!" Danny agreed and started for the exit but then he got yanked back by Vitoya.

"One last thing!"

"Uh, what is it?" Danny asked with trepidation. He wanted to get out of the room and out of the vicinity of the ghost-type as soon as possible.

"Have you seen a netball?"

"No?"

"Fuck. Okay, thanks anyway. Now get the fuck out." Danny hurriedly sprinted for the exit, trying hard not to look back, but then he tripped lamely, got up, and looked around as if hoping no one saw that, then continued running.

Vitoya looked around. What's different? How could've Princeton been released from his pokéball? He was covered in breakfast foods, so that was one clue. She took a step back absentmindedly and slipped, nearly cracking her head on the floor but managed to grab a chair in time before she gave herself a concussion. Vitoya looked down and noticed her tray of fruits on the floor.

"Aw man. My fruit," she grumbled. "… OH WAIT." Vitoya took off her leather fingerless gloves, shoved them into her pocket, and started digging through the fallen breakfast. She shoved the sticky breakfast out of the way as well as she could and that's when her fingers brushed something hard with a criss cross pattern. Vitoya grabbed it and upon picking off the bits of bacon and pancake she found exactly what she was looking for.

Looking at her partner pokémon, Sesame was holding a firm grip on Princeton, she yelled at him, "Ses, I got it! Let go!" Sesame heard her cue and Flung Princeton down into the floor one more time then released his vines off of the jellyfish. "Return!" Vitoya pronounced and pointed the ball at her target. With one last furious trill, Princeton was converted into red light and safely stored away into his ball.

"Gotcha," Vitoya let out an exasperated sigh and pocketed the net ball. "Hahaha, not a single casualty," she commented after Ses jumped onto her shoulder. She then looked around at the ruins of what was once the cafeteria. All the tables had been broken to bits and the lights were dangling by their wires.

"'Cept maybe one," Suddenly a lightbulb fell from the ceiling and shattered into a million pieces, "Or two."

The sound of blaring sirens approached the Center quickly. Red, white, and blue lights flashed in an alternating pattern through the windows.

"Three, if we don't hurry the fuck outta here! Let's roll, Ses!" Vitoya looked desperately for an escape route, but the sound of the sirens only got louder.

"Fuck!" She looked to her left. The door was wide open, but if she took that direct of an exit she and Princeton would be caught for sure. She looked to her right. The windows were reinforced with a special material to protect the Center from being robbed, she knew that much. She was trapped.

"Well, there's only one way out of this, Ses. Do you know how to play dead?" Sesame looked at Vitoya with an unamused expression, "I'm kidding! I know you do. But how do we get out of this one, man?" While Vitoya contemplated their options for escape, Sesame tilted his head to face the ceiling, where he noticed that there was a large vent.

Sesame chittered frantically and yanked on Vitoya's collar repeatedly, "Not now, Ses! I'm trying to think!" Vitoya paced back and forth hurriedly. Annoyed, Sesame used Grass Knot and tripped Vitoya, who fell onto her back with a loud thud.

"OW! FUCK! Are you trying to give me a concussion?!" As Vitoya laid on the floor, she, too, noticed the vent. "Oh! We could escape through the vent!" Sesame facepalmed with both hands.

"What? Jealous you didn't think of it first? Just kidding. Leggo. Think your Seed Bomb can do the trick? I mean cause I know you haven't mastered it yet but still..." Sesame side-glanced his trainer with eyes that said 'don't doubt me.'

Sesame used Vine Whip to level himself with the vent in the wall that was about thirty feet above the floor. Hanging from his vines and his hands free, he formed four small seeds that glowed bright green in his hands and put one on each corner of the vent cover. After that, he pushed his feet on the wall to launch himself a safe distance away from the miniature explosions. The vent cover fell to the floor with a clatter as he swung back to his original spot. Vitoya cheered at the success from her position on ground level and Sesame smiled to himself, satisfied. He then dropped down to pick up Vitoya and propelled them up to the vent where she crawled in with Sesame hot on her figurative tail.

-DnV-

Danny paced worriedly outside of the Center, Vitoya should've been back by now. What was taking her so long? The police officers had arrived for quite some time, and had questioned Danny briefly about what had happened. They weren't able to get very much information out of him, though. The only thing of value he said, or rather, _screamed_ , was 'GHOST!' so they let him go free. Now, Danny was anxiously awaiting Vitoya's return, but at the same time dreaded it. What if she brought her demonic jellyfish, too? The mere thought was enough to make Danny faint.

Nearby, a bush rustled tumultuously and startled Danny causing him to fall backwards. After a moment of inactivity, the bush shook again. This time, Danny stood up and walked towards it out of curiosity. He stood on his tiptoes to get a good look behind it, and what he saw was Vitoya's torso scrambling to free the rest of her body from what seemed to be the wall of the building. Danny jumped. _OH MY ARCEUS. THIS IS JUST LIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN 'THE HUMAN SCOLIPEDE' AND IT'S SEQUEL_ ' _THE HUMAN SCOLIPEDE 2: THE POISONING'._

"Ugh, you saw that movie too?" Vitoya groaned as she wriggled trying to release herself from the vent. Oops. Apparently that wasn't in his head like Danny thought. "It's fucking gross. I regret even having eyes to watch that shit. Literally. It had shit. You should know, you watched it."

"AH, DON'T REMIND ME!" Danny covered his ears and began chanting again. Vitoya rolled her eyes.

"Guess that means you won't be helping me get out of this damn hole," she grumbled, "Fuckin' dick." She braced her arms on either side of the opening and, with a grunt of effort, shimmied herself out of the vent followed immediately by Sesame. Seeing that Vitoya was unstuck, Danny uncovered his ears.

"Why did you… why didn't you just use the front door?" Danny asked, as if he was the logical one.

"Because Danny…" Vitoya paused for emphasis. "The cops were here because someone got scared and called in a rampant pokémon and most likely identified it as a male Frillish. And if it's a incident involving a pokémon you know the fuckin' PU will get involved. And if you know anything about Unova, you'd know that the fuckin' PU doesn't take out of control pokémon very lightly. Those assholes would've took Princeton from me and deemed me incapable. I mean sure, he's got some fuckin' issues like he doesn't know the basics of human and pokémon interaction and is a pretentious asshole but who the fuck else is gonna deal with the lil' fucker? They'd turn him into chum, or some sort of pokémon food, otherwise. Not to mention the fucking paperwork and it'll go on a record and it's just a big fuckin' hassle."

"Pee-you?" Danny said the last part with an inquisitive lilt.

"Right. Out of towner," Vitoya reminded herself. "The PU stinks… haha. Get it?" Vitoya laughed humorlessly before continuing on. "But basically, it's the Pokémon Union." Vitoya said 'Union' with a venom that Danny hoped would never be directed at him. "They do shit that's supposed to be helpin' the pokémon but really it's just a bunch of fat cats exploitin' trainer and pokémon alike. But nobody notices because of all the other shit that they're distracting everybody with. I mean they're not all bad I guess," Vitoya conceded, "but if you fuck up one time say goodbye to your poképal forever.

"What do you… what do you mean?"

"Well," Vitoya started, "One of my buddies once bought a casteliacone for himself and didn't share with his Bouffalant and it started ramming cars in the city in a fit. After that, the PU tranquilized it and took it off to who knows the fuck where. Now my pal is deemed an incapable trainer and isn't allowed to have Pokémon above danger level 2. Like what the fuck man, it was something that could've happened to anyone. Might as well not even be a trainer any more."

"Um...uh...what's..um...danger level?" Danny felt foolish for asking.

"What the fuck do you think it means, Danny? It's literally self explanatory." Danny bit his lip, sorry that he had asked. Seeing Danny look so pathetic, Vitoya sighed.

"You know what, we might as well have the Trainer school explain the whole fuckin' thing to you. Speaking of which, do you even have a trainer's license?" Danny shook his head. "Then how the fuck did you get into the cafeteria?"

"Well, I um...I kinda ran after you. I heard the nurse shout 'hey, wait!' but I think she didn't want to have to deal with running into the crowd." Danny looked at his shoes, sheepishly.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I was wrong about you, Danny boy. You're quite the rebel after all," she joked and slugged him on the shoulder.

"Wha!? I-I'm…." Danny looked horrified, realizing that he was now a wanted outlaw, "Vitoya, what am I gonna do?! OHMYARCEUS WHAT IF THESE COPS ARE HERE FOR ME!?"

"I thought we already established that they're here for Princeton, but whatever. Let's go get you a license. And I think I might need an upgrade, maybe..." Vitoya hummed the last part to herself absentmindedly as she led the duo away from the commotion of the Frillish scare.

"W-wait for me!" Danny hurried to keep up with Vitoya's pace. "D-do you even know where you're going?" he called out to her. Vitoya came to a halt which caused Danny to bump into her.

"Probably," she answered and then continued to walk forward as Sesame hopped back to his place on her shoulders, the two trainers wandered off into the streets of Nacrene.

 _A/N:_

 _ **D says: Hey ya'll it's us again! After like an eight-month hiatus, here we are, ready and rarin' to serve up some gooooooood shit. Or, at least, tolerable shit. Anywho, this one was overdue, as i'm sure you can tell. I mean it's literally...V, what was the word count again?**_ _It's like 5000._ _ **IT'S LITERALLY 5000 WORDS LONG.**_ _Actually it's 4,836._ _ **IM SCREAMING. IT TOOK FOREVER. But hey, I hope you enjoyed it! We really poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it. Not our own, of course. Bc I need this blood to survive. But yeah!**_

 _V says: Another collab chapter between D and V. Coolio. And probably for the foreseeable future._

 _Fun fact: The reason why Vitoya got so urgent about Sesame's coffee is because when this happened last time, he disappeared for days at a time. Also the "fuck" count for this chapter (not including the one in this sentence and the other euphemisms during the sex joke bit) is 29. Copious amounts of fucks brought to you by all the terrified trainers during the Frillish scare._


End file.
